As you can probably tell, I'm mostly interested in just growing aquatic plants, rather than having a full-fledged pond. Actually, I would love a pond, but constraints on my time, space, energy, and money prevent that, so I do it this way without fish, pumps, filters, or most chemicals. I do lightly fertilize and every two weeks I add
B.t.i. flakes to control mosquitoes. My garden is in summer-dry California
(Zone 9b, Zone 10A in recent years...).
Besides my water gardens I also grow many bog plants in containers kept in saucers of water. I will post some pics of these. Other bog gardeners may be interested in these plants for their bogs or pond margins. Some are sub-tropical and may only be frost hardy to Zones 8 or 9, but others are hardier to cold. Of course, cuttings could be over-wintered in a greenhouse or sunny window if necessary.
Several of the large-leaved plants in this picture do great as bog plants. The white flowers are from
Astilboides tabularis and behind that is the California & Oregon native
Darmera peltata. Both are saxifrage relatives that like lots of water. In the upper right are the leaves of
Ligularia stenocephala 'The Rocket'. It produces tall spikes of yellow daisies in Spring.
I have been growing kahili ginger (
Hedychium gardnerianum) as a bog plant , but I really don't need to. The variegated shell ginger (
Alpinia zerumbet) and
Alocasia x 'Portora' could probably also take bog conditions too, but as you can see they are
not in saucers. Also, chameleon plant (Houttuynia cordata) peeking out in the background. Like many bog plants, it is more manageable in a container.
Several water-loving bog plants in this shot. From upper left, an ornamental rhubarb (
Rheum palmatum var.
tanguticum), zebra bulrush (
Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani 'Zebrinus'), marine arrow-rush (
Triglochin maritima), wapato or arrowhead (Sagittaria latifolia), dwarf cat-tail (
Typha minima), and white-leaved pitcher-plant (
Sarracenia leucophylla). I water all these plants in summer with ordinary tap water, even the
Sarracenia, which some say is fussy about water quality.
Chilean false-rhubarb (
Gunnera chilensis)
. These leaves are less than two feet wide. They can grow much bigger on a large plant in the ground. There is also another Gunnera sp. in the next shot.
Here are two bog plants from southern Africa. They aren't hardy in cold winters, but they do grow fast. On the left is water-pumpkin (
Gunnera perpensa) and on the right is is
Wachendorfia thyrsiflora in the Bloodroot family, Haemodoraceae. It produces a tall racemes of yellow flowers, mostly in Spring.
Ruellia simplex (syn:
R. brittoniana). This particular plant isn't actually set in water but it certainly could be. This
Ruellia is a great bog plant. There are also white and pink flowered forms.
Many people wouldn't think of
Asarum splendens as a bog plant, but I can assure you I've grown this by setting it in a shallow bowl of water for over ten years now.
Of course, cardinal flower (
Lobelia cardinalis) is a bog garden classic. This is a hybrid cultivar from Germany called 'Fan Scarlach'.
